The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed in a Wednesday legal filing that Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be fitted with an ankle monitor by the U.S. Marshals Service and pretrial services in Tennessee ahead of his anticipated, though possibly temporary, release from federal custody on Friday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire confirmed the condition for Abrego Garcia to be released in a court filing made on Wednesday, when the DOJ reiterated its opposition to Abrego Garcia’s release from its custody, but said it did not oppose a modification to his release order that would give the alleged human smuggler 48 hours to report to pretrial services in Maryland.
Abrego Garcia is set to be released on Friday after U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw last month denied prosecutors’ request for a detention hearing on the same day that Magistrate Barbara Holmes agreed to the defendant’s request to remain behind bars for an additional 30 days due to a risk of being deported.
As Crenshaw and Holmes announced decisions, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis issued a ruling that prohibited ICE from arresting Abrego Garcia once he is released. Instead, Abrego Garcia must be given a 48-hour notice of further immigration actions against him.
Deported to El Salvador in March by the Trump administration, Abrego Garcia successfully obtained U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that he was wrongfully deported, and ordering the Trump administration to facilitate his return, despite his 2019 final deportation order stating that he was only barred from removal to Guatemala.
Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States in June, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador agreed to send him back after she unsealed the indictment accusing Abrego Garcia of spending nearly a decade as part of a human smuggling ring.
He pleaded not guilty after being returned to Tennessee, and his case is currently scheduled for trial in January 2026, though Abrego Garcia recently asked for the case to be dropped, claiming he is being vindictively prosecuted due to courts ordering the reversal of his March deportation.
The Tennessee Star was the first news outlet to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in November 2022. A THP spokesman later told The Star that troopers were instructed to release him by the “Biden-era FBI,” and a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document subsequently confirmed troopers suspected Abrego Garcia of human trafficking during the stop.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
